WUSTHOF "defining the Edge" Marketing Campaign Welcomes Three New Chefs

NORWALK, Conn., May 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- WUSTHOF, the premier cutlery brand now celebrating its 200^th anniversary, rolls out "phase three" of "defining the Edge," the brand's highly successful multi-platform consumer marketing initiative that originally launched in spring 2012. Anchored by a highly engaging, media-rich microsite, www.wusthofedge.com, and top-tier national and regional advertising in digital and print media, "defining the Edge" welcomes a talented trio of chefs to its growing roster of edgy culinary professionals: the Maverick (Ann Kim of Pizzeria Lola in Minneapolis, Minnesota); the Natural (Sam Gorenstein of My Ceviche in Miami, Florida); and the Artisan (Clayton Chapman of The Grey Plume in Omaha, Nebraska).

"We're thrilled to spotlight three amazingly talented and diverse chefs to our high-profile campaign, which continues to break ground in our industry and gain high praise from our retail customers and consumers," says Annette Garaghty, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at WUSTHOF-TRIDENT OF AMERICA, INC. "We're especially excited to enter the third phase of our campaign during our milestone 200^th anniversary. The creative for this campaign is founded on the idea of celebrating culinary professionals who, very much like our brand, are continuously raising the bar on excellence, and constantly challenging the status quo. We're delighted to showcase chefs who perfectly reflect our company's DNA, which is the key reason for our enduring success."

Featured on WUSTHOF's newly redesigned microsite, www.wusthofedge.com, the three new chefs are simultaneously introduced with evocative documentary-style videos that reveal their values, motives, inspirations, challenges, and distinctively defined attitudes about their culinary craft. Chef content on the microsite will continue to expand throughout the year with instructional web videos filmed on location with each chef showcasing recipe demonstrations using WUSTHOF knives. The recipe-oriented and instructional chef videos will be supplemented with engaging and personable blog postings on various topics, ranging from unexpected tips on cooking and entertaining, to philosophical views on culinary subjects.

In tandem with this month's introduction of the Maverick, the Natural, and the Artisan on www.wusthofedge.com, a broad-based digital banner ad campaign, featuring teaser videos of the three chefs, begins rolling out in targeted epicurean, urban lifestyle, home design, and luxury lifestyle digital media, such as The Daily Meal, Saveur, Serious Eats, Chow.com, Cooking.com, Urbanspoon, EatBetterAmerica, NYTimes.com, Apartment Therapy, Design*Sponge, ElleDecor, Veranda, TownAndCountry, Esquire, and The Life of Luxury. Placement on the brand's YouTube and Vimeo channels will further heighten Internet consumer reach of "defining the Edge."

Beginning this season and through the end of the year, the new Edge chefs will appear individually and together in the print edition of numerous select and strategically targeted national publications, such as: Bon Appetit, Lucky Peach, Elle Decor, Surface, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, WSJ Magazine, and FOUR magazine, a quarterly luxury lifestyle magazine. The visually eye-catching ads – shot in stark black and white photography – dramatically portray the Edge chefs holding a large and distinctively shaped WUSTHOF knife with evident pride and confidence. In the group ad, the headline reads: "When challenging the status quo, they come prepared." A call to action, "film series now playing at wusthofedge.com," follows the headline and underscores the campaign's goal of engaging consumers with the brand through access to highly watchable, inspirational, and shareable chef videos.

"Our breakthrough creative, combined with our expanded and highly targeted media schedule, reaches all of the brand's key demographics, including today's sophisticated youth," says Garaghty. "From the start, the campaign's objective has been to reach hyper-connected, food-centric consumers, who delight in discovering, interacting with, and sharing culinary information through posts on social media. While our culinary focus remains in place, this year we're extending our reach to savvy consumers keenly interested in high design and luxury products."

In addition, each of the chefs will appear in single portrait ads placed in a customized mix of regional magazines reflecting their home base, such as Minnesota Monthly, Miami Magazine, and Omaha Magazine.

Ann Kim, Sam Gorenstein and Clayton Chapman were selected following extensive research conducted by AGENCYSACKS, WUSTHOF's long-standing, New York City-based advertising agency – and creators of "defining the Edge." Beyond demonstrating a strong passion for their craft, and a steadfast drive towards excellence, the charismatic chefs enthusiastically use WUSTHOF knives, and have a strong presence on social media sites. 

Established 200 years ago in Solingen, Germany, WUSTHOF is a family-owned and managed company with a rich heritage and enduring reputation among culinary professionals and discerning home cooks for premium-quality cutlery, knife sharpening tools and other cutlery accessories. The U.S. subsidiary, WUSTHOF-TRIDENT OF AMERICA, INC. is located in Norwalk, Connecticut.

WUSTHOF products are sold at select specialty and department stores in 90 countries around the world. They are sought-after and used in the finest dining establishments, and the most prestigious culinary institutions training tomorrow's rising star chefs.

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAaO5iD7g3o&list=UUW9xy-bJBiEkYF8Q78MI6jw
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140520/89425

SOURCE WUSTHOF